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18 February 2015

It's time once again for the Watcher's Council's 'Weasel Of The Week' nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for the award of the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations!

The Noisy Room : My nomination this week is Democratic Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber who is embroiled in a weird green scandal with his fiance and had to resign this week over it. Kitzhaber's fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, was allegedly using government contacts to enrich her private business. Hayes earned about $213,000 as a consultant during Kitzhaber's first term, and multiple sources said she frequently guided government contracts toward firms that did business with her. She's now being accused of running what's called a "pay-for-play" scheme where her influence over the former governor was translated into jobs and money for people willing to give her business.

The scandal got so weird, heated and bad that politicians from both sides of the aisle asked Kitzhaber to resign immediately. With Kitzhaber now gone, Oregon's next governor will be the current Democratic Secretary of State Kate Brown. That will make her the first bisexual governor in the US. And here's where it gets even weirder: On Wednesday, Kitzhaber reportedly asked Brown to return to Oregon from a conference in Washington, D.C., for a one-on-one meeting. Brown returned and met with Kitzhaber Wednesday afternoon. The governor was expected to announce his resignation at that meeting, but instead he apparently asked Brown why she "came back early," conveniently ignoring the fact he asked her to.
This utterly confused everyone. Brown herself said the meeting was strange calling ita "bizarre and unprecedented situation." Bizarre and unprecedented are good words, but others have also called the whole thing "illegal." As of Friday, both the state attorney general and the FBI are looking into the
couple.

The Right Planet: Faux "conservative" David Brooks seemed to go out of his way to excuse Brian Williams and his fanciful tales of derring-do. Apparently he feels it reflects badly on the media, or something. Huh. Ya think? Brooks' admonished us to "cultivate a capacity for forgiveness":

"I personally think the reaction against [Brian Williams] is way out of proportion to what he did. And I think we all have to cultivate a capacity for forgiveness, a rigorous forgiveness for what he did. And I personally hope he continues his job."

What the heck does that mean? Cultivate a capacity for forgiveness? For crying out loud, I've heard it all now. You first, Mr. Brooks, et al., ... start a "forgiveness garden."

JoshuaPundit: For his plans to take total control of the internet, make it a utility and hugely expand taxes and fees. And to 'regulate' internet and broadcast content to shut down 'extremist' (AKA conservative, anti-Obama thought) via a 323 page plan he refuses to let congress or the public see.

Well, there it is. What a despicable group of Weasels...ANY OF THEM COULD WIN! Check back Thursday to see which Weasel walks off with the statuette of shame!

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